Walking onto the Pueblo plaza during a sunny, wintry Santa Fe Christmas afternoon snowfall, we notice the silence first. Hearing our footsteps crunching on the ground, we quietly cross the plaza to enter the church, then find a place to wait and sit.
Our dear neighbors, Reverend Victor Kazanjian (leadership coach, my chaplaincy mentor), and his wife Michelle Lepore (respected shaman, educator, healer), have just introduced us to their guests from Boston, author Josine Mutuyimana and her partner Ramsey, originally from Rwanda. Michelle mentors Josine (pronounced zho-ZEEN) through an organization called SHE CAN Global for some years. And we’ve come here to the Tesuque Pueblo for the Deer Dance, a holiday tradition.
Josine shares a bit about losing her father in early childhood, her family’s arduous journey across Africa on foot, having defied all conceivable odds to survive. How she’s found mental and emotional balm in meditation, therapy, and in writing the story of her life. But one particular moment during our brief conversation stands out starkly.
In describing her healing, she says of her family’s nomadic endurance, “I’ve realized that home is not a place.” We both take a thoughtful pause.
To which I find myself adding, “Home is a state of consciousness.” The exact opening lines of a poem in Practice You called home. The below picture from 2017 flashes in my mind, I commit to finding it.
from Practice You: A Journal, published by Sounds True, photographed in 2017.
Slowly distant bells, footsteps, drums begin to materialize—the Deer Dance begins, repetitive chanting lulling me to tears—this all feels somehow familiar. I’m feeling changed here, both by that dance, and by the threads of conversation with Josine. Since we both want to talk more, we plan to attend zazen (sitting meditation) at Upaya Zen Center the next morning, then record a short interview.
Here in this post for you is our impromptu conversation—we ventured much more deeply than either of us had imagined. Josine is teaching me that our chosen perspective matters, that our attitude creates a veritable field of energy. And if we have time to read, to educate ourselves, we have plenty.
Dear reader,
What is your notion of home?
Might you be inspired to offer a word of love for Josine after watching?
Might you name something ordinary for which you’re thankful today?
I N V I T A T I O N
See you tomorrow, Monday December 30th, for Reflection|Direction.
Longtime collaborator Michelle Martello and I invite you to our annual gathering in which to reflect and direct your coming year with clarity and grace, in the company of supportive humans.
Planning Session 2025: Reflection|Direction
with Elena Brower and Michelle Martello
December 30th, 11am-1230pm Eastern Time
Registration and details here.
Photo, Pete Longworth
And here is Josine’s book, Not the Home I Dreamed About.
Wishing you an easeful start to your year.
Throughout the month of January, I’ll share this space with writers with whom I’ve connected here:
, , and .Thank you for being here.
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